Are you able to stick to your health and fitness program, including your diet? Or do you start with a plan on Monday and give up by Thursday? We are all successful in some way in our lives and this success can easily be applied to healthy eating and our meal plan.

Words: Geoff Edwards

Review your successes

What successes have you achieved in your life so far? Frequently we don’t have time to reflect on our successes. When you know how you achieved a goal or outcome, the same knowledge can be applied to your healthy eating approach. It is important to step away from your busy lifestyles and reflect on all-important aspects of your life and your successes. In the successful area you have chosen, what do you believe made you successful? How did you focus on your goal? What plans did you put in place? Once you know these answers, apply them to your diet.

Have clarity on your vision

A vision is an excellent way to create your future by gathering things that clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goal. Literally, a vision represents where you want to be. While you may use any medium for recording your vision, decide on one that suits you, for example, a vision board, or a display on your computer screen or mobile device. What is the point? Simply put, we humans are a very busy species and are constantly bombarded by distractions. Making use of your vision serves several purposes, some of which include helping you to achieve your health ambitions. And, just imagine how you will feel when you achieve your vision.

Things do add up

Decide, with the right dietary advice, what food plan you will use and how you will manage that in all social situations and holidays. Sometimes it’s the small things that add up and we need to learn to say NO and remember our ultimate vision. We all deserve rewards; however it is important to choose wellbeing related rewards rather than food options. Perhaps take a trip to the spa rather than the store to buy that block of chocolate.

Mix the routine

Variation is the key to any successful approach. Investigate different healthy eating options, planning your meals ahead through weekly shopping and buying organic. Have the right amount of each food group to suit your body type and your goals. Vary the approach week by week.

Notice that success accumulates

In working with clients, one of the most important aspects in achieving success is that success accumulates. A useful exercise with this is to note your successes at the end of the day and you will feel inspired to “go the extra mile” the next day. This is a mental conditioning exercise that over time builds your beliefs. Also, remember that “success breeds success”.

Change your mindset

After you have done some work on building your own personal power related to healthy eating, you’ll potentially encounter obstacles. These could be regarding past relationships with foods or old habits. Remember that it’s all a state of mind and changing your mind can be done very quickly. The way you see the world is based on your mental images, sounds and feelings. What you are really doing is changing your mental CD. By knowing your internal communications, your rules, references, beliefs, perceptions and associations, you can create a change in your mindset that will help you get past your obstacles, no matter how many times they come up. By knowing yourself, you can work with others to create outcomes that are beneficial.

Partner with a coach and buddy

Start by finding like-minded workout buddies to ensure success for you with your healthy eating options. Through a congenial atmosphere, rather than a competitive one, you can stay motivated. Members of a group can offer encouragement and push each other to reach goals. When someone has a bad day, the group is there to lift their spirits and sympathise. A buddy can be a great help in ensuring you eat healthily on a regular basis and in doing so, this helps you achieve your fitness and weight loss goals, no matter whether you’re exercising at home, in the park, or in the local gym.

Create Success Habits

Every habit, whether it is related to goals, results, taking action, people, honesty, or self-discipline, can and must be developed for greater success. Overcoming unproductive habits requires us to establish new ways of thinking. By re-enforcing these new habits on a regular basis and creating momentum, the old habits will be overcome. Take the following steps to change a habit:

decide you definitely want to do this;

become conscious of your unproductive habit and when it occurs;

find more reasons to change versus not to change;

adopt a new habit;

repeat the process until it lasts; and

reward yourself

If you have practised this enough, when you come to the real situation, there will be no issue.

Find what works for you

To develop your own success story, use the following components as a template:

A vision of the future

Relevant photos in your life

Goals and actions

Insights and achievements

Important people your life

Strengths and weaknesses

Beliefs, drivers and a balance view

Tools and resources

Diary

Find a journal or a place where you could record aspects for your life each day using this template and your goals as a reference and see what evolves. Overall, this will create your own success story and you will have your own life book.

Writing and recording is a great way to plan and achieve success with your healthy eating. There are many different types of diaries and you can also create your own. An important aspect of this is to note how you feel each day as this can govern what you eat. Taking note of your feelings over a week will show patterns in eating, successes, challenges etc. This will provide you with insights on your behaviour and opportunities to change.

If you would like to develop your own personal success plan related to health and fitness contact me via geoffedwards@bigpond.com